Life After Death
by pretentious-emo-kid
Summary: Kate's death was fake. Yes, another one of those stories, lol. However, I have tried hard tomkeep it in the tone of the show, and it's Tate, though not overpoweringly so. THE END. Yup, it's over. Please R&R. x
1. Kate Todd, deceased

This is my first NCIS fic. Please be nice. :)

Disclaimer - Own no one and nothing.**

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**Immediately after Kate's "death"**

They didn't bother checking for a pulse. What would be the point? In her mind's eye, Kate saw what they saw. She was lying on a rooftop, with a bullet in her head. The thought brought a sudden sick feeling to the pit of her stomach.

She tried to tell herself that this was just another rehearsal. In her mind, she replaced Tony and Gibbs with the actors that had so often taken their place. She imagined Ducky stood a few feet off, trying to smile for her sake, to let her know that it was all going to be all right.

It didn't work. The sick feeling got worse. She felt clammy.

She tried being methodical, rational. She remembered the face of the fake shooter. She remembered the blood pack hidden in her hair. She remembered how she had stood in exactly the right place, so carefully positioning herself between her colleagues so that they would not see when she swiftly made the necessary changes to her appearance. She remembered how Ducky would soon arrive, and turn her into a "corpse".

That didn't work either. All she could concentrate on were the voices of Gibbs and Tony. She could hear Gibbs calling Ducky. His voice was calm, but she had worked with him long enough to know that he was deeply shaken. She could hear Tony heaving slightly. He would not let himself throw up, but she knew that her sudden "death" had affected him deeper than she had previously let herself imagine it would.

She knew how they felt. Fighting back the urge to forget that they were agents and just collapse with the enormity of it all. The first time she had practised this, she had cried and cried. She wanted to yell at them, tell them that she had her reasons and that this was the very last resort, but that would defeat the point of all the months of work and planning.

Instead, she stayed stationary, as she had practised, and tried desperately to forget that she had just faked her own death.

**Ducky arrives**

Being zipped into a body bag was the weirdest sensation Kate had ever experienced. Even now, when she had practised with Ducky over and over again, it still felt horrible. However, she hardly noticed that. She was too busy concentrating on the fact that it was only a few minutes before she could open her eyes, and stretch, and speak again. It sounded silly, but she needed to remind herself that she wasn't actually dead.

She felt herself being lifted into the van by Jimmy and Ducky. She heard the doors slam, and she heard the body bag being unzipped. She wanted to spring up, but she waited to hear Ducky's confirmation, as she had been instructed.

"You can open your eyes, Caitlin."

It made a strange sight, an apparent corpse suddenly sitting up and flinging her arms around the doctor stood over her.

"I'm…_dead_, Ducky." Her voice shook as she said it.

At her words, Ducky pulled away from her, held her at arm's length, looked her directly in the eye, and said very firmly, "No you are not. You are quite definitely alive."

Kate tried to take comfort from the words, but she couldn't.

"I might as well be, though. I'm never going to see any of you again. All my friends, my family, as far as they're concerned, that's it. Kate Todd, deceased."

"Now, you listen to me. The others will catch Ari, and in no time at all, you'll be able to come back."

"I appreciate you trying, Ducky, but you know that's not true. Even if they do catch Ari, it's not just him, is it? If it was, we wouldn't have been reduced to this. Ari's too powerful, too well connected. He has made up his mind that I'm going to die, and nothing will stop that, unless everyone thinks I'm already dead. No, as from now on, my life as Caitlin Todd is over."

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	2. Shadows of a past now gone

**Disclaimer - don't own. Don't sue.**

**Promise that the story properly picks up in the next chapter.**

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**Six months after Kate's "death"**

**NCIS HQ.**

Tony practically skipped out of the elevator. On his face, he had a huge grin, and in his pocket, he had the number of a very attractive woman he had met on the way to work. He could already tell that today would be a good day.

"You look even more smug than usual," commented Ziva, dryly, from behind her desk.

Tony simply sat on the corner of her desk and smiled at her. Rolling her eyes, Ziva pushed the button on her answering machine.

"You have one new message: '_Ziva David? Oh, I think I may have the wrong number, except that it always worked before. Okay, well, if you know Kate Todd do you think that you could give her a message please? Could you tell her that it's Nick Johnson, and I know I haven't spoken to her in years, but I'm getting married, and I'd really appreciate it if she could come. If she calls, I can give her the details. Thanks, and sorry to be an inconvenience.'_"

Ziva frowned. "Kate Todd? I recognise that name."

Tony barely heard her. It was as though the past months hadn't happened. The happiness he had felt this morning gave way to the familiar hollow feeling he had felt directly after Kate's death. For a brief moment, he looked at Ziva, and imagined that she was Kate. The pretend Kate rolled her eyes at him, and after checking that Gibbs was nowhere to be seen, she stuck her tongue out, and then smirked childishly. However, in a moment she was gone, and in her place sat Ziva again, looking confused.

"Tony, are you okay?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders as nonchalantly as he could manage, and then made his way out of the room.

Ziva stared after him, feeling concerned, before a voice made her jump.

"What's wrong with him?"

Clutching her pounding heart, Ziva turned to face Gibbs. She still couldn't get used to his habit of sneaking up on people like some kind of ninja.

"I don't know, boss. One second he was fine, and then the next, he was all…strange."

"What happened in between?"

"We just listened to a message on my answering machine."

"What was the message about?" asked Gibbs.

Ziva frowned again. "Nothing really. Just some man trying to get in touch with a Kate Todd."

Gibbs sighed. "That would be it."

"Who's she? I mean, I recognise the name, but I don't know where from."

"Kate was the agent you replaced."

"Ah."

"Yeah. In a weird kind of way, she and Tony were very close. He's still not entirely come to terms with her death."

Ziva nodded sadly.

Meanwhile, Tony had made his way to the bathroom. Holding onto the sink, he attempted to ignore the memories that were coming thick and fast. Little memories like their arguments, her face when she heard he knew about the wet t-shirt competition, all the stuff they'd crumpled up and thrown at each other. They were memories that seemed so insignificant, so _shallow_, that he felt guilty for them.

It was at that moment that he heard some one come into the bathroom. He allowed himself one deep breath, and stared at his reflection in the mirror. _Get a grip, DiNozzo._

And with that, he walked back to his desk, as though nothing had happened.

His grin was not quite as wide as it had been earlier, however.

**Six months after Kate's "death".**

**Location classified.**

At six thirty precisely, Kate slid out of bed. Sophie, her room mate for the past five and a half months, still marvelled at how quickly Kate managed to wake up in the mornings. It made Kate grin to imagine telling Sophie that her self control was a result of once having protected the president. In fact, Kate was smiling more and more lately. She was still getting used to things. She was still getting used to being referred to as Charlotte (Charlie) Lockley. She was still getting used to looking in the mirror, and seeing her hair tied into a curly ponytail, her once brown eyes now blue and covered with a pair of clear glass glasses. She was still getting used to the new wardrobe. She was still getting used to the fact that instead of going making her way to NCIS in the mornings, she now drove to the local college where she was training to be a teacher. But, despite all that change, she was starting to feel like a person again, not a walking corpse.

She passed Sophie's room and walked into the bathroom. It took her longer to get ready than it would have done six months ago. The realisation gave her a strange feeling, but her musings were interrupted by a knock at the bathroom door.

"Hurry up, Charlie! I have to be in early to ask for an extension on my assignment!"

"Well, you should have woken up early, shouldn't you?"

But she finished getting ready and good naturedly vacated the bathroom. After her breakfast, she still had a little longer until she had to leave, so she sat on the sofa and switched the TV on. She had still not reached the point where she could leave herself unoccupied in the mornings. Unwanted thoughts floated into her head when she did. Thoughts like, _I wonder what Abby and the others are up to this morning. I wonder what case they'll be working on today. I wonder whether they talk about me ever. I wonder how my replacement's working out. Do they like her or him better than me?_

But soon Sophie was ready to leave, and as Kate drove them to college, she turned her thoughts to the assignment she was handing in the next day.

She had no idea that events were being set in motion that would throw her head first back into the life she was slowly separating herself from…

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	3. The price you pay

**Disclaimer - blah blah blah own nada.**

**Thanks for the reviews. :)

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Six months after Kate's death**

Joseph Dean heard about his friend, Ari's death a month after it happened. Usually, he would have been one of the first in the world to know, but three years previously he had been forced into hiding after committing a high profile assassination. Ironically, during the whole three years, Ari had been the only one who had ever checked on him, spoke to him, and kept him informed. He and Ari had been close for years. In fact, though they led the kind of life in which getting close to other people was usually extremely dangerous, both would have classed the other as a friend. Now, Joseph's only friend was dead.

As soon as he had heard, he had made his mind up. He was bored of his life. He missed the thrill of his shady career. He had decided that it was time for one last mission, one objective; make NCIS pay.

After calling up every contact and resource he had accumulated over the years, he had been formulating a plan to do just that. However, the most interesting piece of information he had found, and the most recent, had put a stop to that particular plan. Caitlin Todd was still alive. Now he had a new objective; give NCIS back their beloved "dead" Kate, and then make them both pay doubly.

The thought made him smile grimly as he looked at his computer monitor. He hoped the information in front of him was worth the huge amount of money he had stolen to pay for it. It was.

He now knew Kate's new name, where she lived, where she went to college, and who her room mate was.

And who her room mate was dating.

Joseph's smile grew wider. The information was _well _worth the price he'd paid for it.

**Six months after Kate's "death"**

**NCIS HQ**

Abby snapped her fingers in front of Tony's face.

"Hey there, Tony. Still with me?"

Tony's face snapped back into focus.

"I don't know what you mean, Abby."

"Bull. I'm no idiot. I'm aware that you never pay much attention when I'm explaining my genius to you, but today's even worse than usual. I was just getting tempted to put a mirror in front of your mouth and check you were still breathing."

"I'm fine."

The childish pout disappeared from Abby's face, and was replaced by an earnest look of concern. "The only time you say that, is when you _aren't _fine. What's wrong?"

Tony hesitated, but then decided that he would tell her. "Some guy left a message on Ziva's machine this morning…for Kate."

Abby put a hand on his shoulder. "I miss her too."

She smiled softly at him and he smiled back. Both of them drew comfort from the shared moment, and then it was over. Abby moved her hand, and carried on with her explanation in the same tone as before. When she was finished, Tony turned to leave, but stopped when he heard her voice behind him.

"Just out of interest, were you more bothered by the Kate bit or the 'some guy' bit?"

"What d'you mean?"

Abby simply raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"Under this scary exterior lurks a very wise woman. You know what I mean."

Tony's face remained confused, but he had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

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	4. Sailors? One or two

Disclaimer - Look, if I owned the show or the characters, would I be putting my storylines on the internet? No. I would put them on the show! Please don't sue me. ;)**

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**Six months and two weeks after Kate's "death"**

Kate was sat on her bed, watching Sophie root through her wardrobe.

"Sophie, remind me again why you have to wear one of _my _dresses."

Sophie turned her attention from the wardrobe to Kate.

"I told you earlier. Martin's already seen all of _my _clothes, and I'm too broke to go buy more, so I'm borrowing yours."

"Oh, okay."

"You are the best room mate in the world, Charlie."

Kate smiled. "So, it's getting serious with you and Martin then."

"Well," Sophie grinned coyly, "I wouldn't say serious, but I do like him a lot. He's a sailor, you know."

Kate coughed into her glass of wine. "Really?"

"Mmm. I'd never met a sailor before. I wonder if they're all as nice as him. You ever met any?"

By now, Sophie was rooting through the wardrobe again, so Kate was safe to smirk as she answered, "Sailors? One or two."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph adjusted the focus on the binoculars slightly. From his car, he could see that both Kate and Sophie were in the bedroom, and it didn't look like they were going to hurrying out. It was time to go take a risk. As he climbed the stairs to Kate and Sophie's fourth floor apartment, he noted how he would never have dreamed of doing this a few years ago, but he was becoming reckless. He was also unable to get his hands on any decent surveillance equipment, and frankly, the thought of sneaking around an apartment with two people in it appealed greatly to his sense of adventure.

Silently, he picked the lock on the front door and let himself in. Kate and Sophie were still in the bedroom, and they had the door shut. Perfect. As quietly as he could manage, Joseph crept towards the door and listened intently.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

They had finally chosen a dress.

"You look beautiful," said Kate. "Where is it you're going again?"

"I don't know. It's a surprise. He just said to meet him in the college car park at eight, and from there he would, and I quote, 'take me on a magical mystery evening out'." She rolled her eyes.

Kate giggled. "I think that sounds really…"

"Corny?"

"Sweet."

Sophie was just about to answer, when Kate held her hand up and gestured for silence. Slowly, she stood up and made her way past Sophie, to the wardrobe. Still not speaking, she pulled down a shoe box from the top shelf, and withdrew from it a gun. Sophie gasped, and watched wide eyed as Kate walked to the bedroom door, pressed her ear against it, and then flung it open.

There was no one there.

Sophie let out a sigh of relief. "What was that all about?"

However, Kate still wasn't satisfied. She kept the gun in front of her and proceeded to walk through the door, and turn swiftly to each side, checking for anyone who could be hiding. It was only once she had completed two searches of the whole apartment that she let the gun fall to her side.

"I know there was some one in here."

Sophie shook her head, still a little worried by the sight of the gun. "Maybe you were imagining it."

"Oh yeah? Then why is the front door unlocked?"

Sophie followed her gaze. The front door was slightly ajar.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph wiped his brow as he drove down the street. _Idiot. Don't take those kinds of risks again. _That had been to close a call.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Sophie was still feeling shaky. She couldn't understand how her room mate looked so calm.

"Do you think I should call the cops?"

Kate shook her head. "No. They won't be able to do anything. There's nothing missing, we can't prove that anyone came in. We can't even prove that it wasn't us that left the door open. There's no point."

"Well, should I at least call Martin and cancel our date?"

It took a lot of effort, but Kate managed to turn to her friend and smile. "Don't be silly. Go and have fun. I can take care of myself."

Sophie didn't want to leave, but something told her that listening to her room mate would be a good idea.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

As his panic at almost being discovered subsided, Joseph smiled to himself. 'The college car park at eight'. He was making great time.

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	5. Dead to the world

**I know it's short, but I feel that it works better for it. Normal length next chapter, promise. :)

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Six months and two weeks after Kate's "death"**

That evening, Kate locked and bolted every door and window in the apartment, and slept with a gun next to her pillow.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph smiled as he shot Petty Officer Martin Farmer in the head.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Sophie straightened her dress as the cab drove her to meet her sailor boyfriend.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate jolted awake when an owl hooted outside.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Sophie screamed in horror as she ran across the car park to Martin's bleeding corpse. She did not immediately notice that card that lay next to his head - the one that read, _For Ari_.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

At eight forty-five that evening, Tony, who had been working on paperwork, handed the phone to Gibbs, whilst mouthing, "You want to take this one, boss."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

And Joseph walked into a bar and treated himself to a beer for a job well done.

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	6. Who the hell is Charlie Lockton?

**Hope you like this chapter. It was pretty fun to write, and I'm quite proud of my dialogue at the beginning.

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Six months and two weeks after Kate's "death" **

Gibbs studied the card intently through the plastic of the evidence bag. "For Ari," he murmured, "What the hell does that mean?"

"I think it means that some one's taking revenge for Ari's death, boss."

Gibbs tore his gaze away from the card to look at McGee. "You think?"

McGee looked away shame facedly at the sarcasm in Gibb's voice.

Gibbs ignored it and continued. "I should have made it clearer what I was thinking. Why the hell have I got a dead sailor in the middle of the car park in a small town, with a card reading, 'For Ari' next to his head? Why here? Why now? Who did it?"

Almost instinctively, McGee, Tony and Gibbs turned to Ziva, but she shrugged her shoulders, her face a blank.

"I'm at as much of a loss as you guys. This means nothing to me."

Gibbs frowned. "Tony, go talk to the girlfriend. Find out if she has any idea what's going on."

Tony nodded and made his way over to the woman with the tear stained face.

"Hi Sophie," he started, "I'm agent Tony DiNozzo. I'm with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Sophie nodded. Tony doubted that she really heard what he was saying. Her eyes were still glazed with shock.

"We found a card next to Martin's head. It says, 'for Ari'. Do you know what that means, Sophie?"

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"So, you can't think of any reason why this could have happened?"

She shook her head.

"Sophie, has anything out of the ordinary happened in the past few days or weeks? Anything that could give us some kind of clue as to what's going on?"

She frowned for a moment, before answering, "Well, me and my room mate are pretty certain that there was an intruder in our apartment today."

"Did you report it to the cops?"

"No. My room mate said that it would be pointless, because they didn't take or disturb anything, and we couldn't prove that they had been there."

"Who's your room mate? We should probably go and check on her."

"Charlotte Lockton."

Tony nodded seriously. "Okay, well I'm gonna go check that she's alright. Meanwhile, Agent David here will need to ask you more questions."

Sophie still looked shocked, but she followed Ziva willingly enough. Tony walked over to Gibbs, wondering whether he may have found a clue as to 'what the hell' was going on.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Her first thought as that it was another owl that had woken her. However, she soon realised that it was some one knocking at the door. The sound made her stiff with fear for a few seconds, but then rational Kate kicked in, and she reasoned that a would-be intruder wouldn't bother knocking. Slipping her gun into the waistband of her trousers, she went to answer the door.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

This room mate was taking her time. Tony was just about to raise his fist to knock again, when the door opened to reveal a sight that froze him as he stood.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Simultaneously, two jaws dropped.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate recovered first, but then again, she had been full aware that Tony was alive. On the other hand, as far as Tony was concerned, he was standing opposite a dead woman. She decided to be calm for his sake.

"Hello Tony."

His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

"Tony, it's me, Kate."

Still, silence.

"Tony, what are you doing here?"

His voice was a shaky murmur. Kate could see that he was struggling not to cry, and the sight brought tears to her own eyes.

"Kate?"

She simply nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck.

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	7. Aftermath of a resurrection part one

Thankyou to **all** of you for your reviews. They were all very lovely and helpful.

This chapter is a little longer than some of t'others, which will please some of you.

Oh, and Sweet LIL loz, you'll have to wait just a little longer until I post the next chapter for some of your questions to be answered. Sorry :)

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**Immediately after Kate's "resurrection"**

If Tony had been thinking rationally, then he probably would have hugged Kate back, but in his mind's eye, all he could see was her lying on the rooftop with a hole in her forehead. He pulled away sharply.

"No. You're dead! _Kate's _dead!"

Kate was hurt by the accusation in his tone, but she knew that this was probably the single strangest moment of his life, and so spoke kindly to him.

"It was fake, Tony."

"Not possible. I saw you die. I saw your body."

"No. You heard a supposed "gunshot" and saw me fall. There was a blood pack in my hair. None of it was real."

"It doesn't make any sense!"

"Ducky was in on it. He was part of the plan." Tony still looked uncertain. "Come on, how I else would I know about the wet t-shirt fiasco?"

She smiled at him, but the gesture did not get the response she wanted.

"How can you make jokes about it?! Do you even realise that for the past six and a half months we have had to live thinking that you're dead? Gibbs was beating himself up, thinking that it was his fault. McGee kept saying that if he'd managed to shoot that guy, that you'd still be alive. Abby had to get over the fact that suddenly, her best friend wasn't there any more-"

Kate cut him off, her own voice getting louder. "How do you think it's been for me? You ever faked your own death, Tony? I wouldn't put it high up on my list of 'fun stuff to do in your lifetime'!"

And then they were both silent. Breathing heavily, they stared at each other. Tony's face relaxed slightly. His voice was soft when he spoke again.

"Why did you do it, Kate? I don't understand why."

Kate sighed and sat on the couch. I had to, Tony. You guys don't know how bad it was. Ari really wanted me dead, and I mean _really _wanted me dead. Death threats, bomb checks under cars – you can't live your life like that."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I wasn't allowed to. Believe me, it wasn't my own choice to pretend to die. That decision was taken out of my hands. I wasn't allowed to mention anything to anyone. I couldn't even talk about it to Jimmy and Ducky, and they were part of the plan."

Whatever Tony was about to say next, he was interrupted by his ringing cell phone.

"Gibbs!"

"Tony, what have you found out?"

"Erm…" Tony glanced at Kate. "I found out quite a lot boss, but I can't really explain it all over the phone."

Gibbs didn't like the sound of that. "And why not?"

"It's…complicated. Just call Abby and tell her that we need her down here, _now_. Me and the room mate will meet you at the crime scene in a bit."

It was only because he was still feeling slightly numb with shock, that Tony had the nerve to hang up the phone on Gibbs. He looked again at Kate who looked steadily back.

"Well," she said, "I guess you've still got a lot of questions."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs stared in shock at the cell phone in his hands.

"What's up, boss?" asked Ziva.

"Tony just hung up on me."

"Are you sure his cell didn't just cut you off or something?" suggested McGee.

"No, he definitely hung up on me."

The others looked as dumbstruck as he felt.

"Well," began Ziva, "What did he say before hanging up?"

"Just that he'd found out a lot, and that we should get Abby down here ASAP. He and the room mate will be here soon."

No one could think of any suggestions as to what could have provoked the bizarre behaviour from DiNozzo.

"I'll call Abby," suggested McGee finally.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"A _teacher_?" spluttered Tony. "Seriously?"

He was perched on the couch with a cup of coffee. Kate was sat cross legged next to him.

"Yeah," she giggled slightly. It was a very un-Kate gesture, but then again, it was a very abnormal evening.

"Agent Kate Todd, a teacher. Who would have thought it?"

Kate's face was suddenly serious. "No. Charlotte Lockton, a teacher."

Tony placed his coffee on the table to the side of him, and took Kate into his arms.

"You're Kate again, now. As far as I'm concerned, Charlotte doesn't exist."

Kate squirmed uncomfortably in his arms.

"DiNozzo, are you hugging me?"

He pulled his arms away immediately, and picked his coffee back up.

"Look, you've been dead for six months, I can show a little affection, can't I?"

Kate just smirked.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Gibbs, I'm cold and I need caffeine," whined Abby.

"I know you're not used to leaving your lab, and actually venturing out into the outside world, but Tony seemed pretty certain that we needed you."

"But _why_?"

"I don't know, Abby."

Abby folded her arms and pouted.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate's stomach churned as she approached the car park. She had a simultaneous urge to run both towards and away from the familiar looking truck parked a little way off.

Instinctively, she grabbed Tony's hand.

"Kate, are you _holding my hand_?"

"Shut up, DiNozzo."

"Charming."

Kate didn't retort. She could see Abby now. If it wasn't for the life changing aspect of the moment, it would have been funny to watch her squint, desperately trying to explain what she thought she saw.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs was talking to Ducky when he heard Abby behind him.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my GOD!"

He turned to look at her. She was stationary, seemingly rooted to the spot, and sudden tears were pouring down her cheeks. He followed her sightline. Tony was approaching, and with him was, well…Oh my God, indeed.

There was silence for a few seconds, before utter chaos ensued.

Abby launched herself at Kate, who to her credit, did manage to remain standing despite the impact of her best friend landing in her arms.

Meanwhile, McGee dropped all the equipment he had been carrying onto his foot, and promptly swore very loudly.

A tearful Ducky searched his person for a handkerchief.

Gibbs simply stood very still, shaking his head disbelievingly.

Only Ziva remained sane, though there was a look of deep confusion on her face.

"What's going on?"

Tony, who had had longer than the others to come to terms with the evening's revelation, answered her.

"Ziva, meet Kate Todd."

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Reviews are welcome, as ever. 


	8. Aftermath of a resurrection part two

**Firstly, I am SO sorry that this chapter took so long. I'm also sorry that it's not very good. After weeks of stressing, I've just taken the plunge and written it. I PROMISE the next chapter will be posted very soon, and will be as good as the others. This one just wouldn't go right.

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Same night as previous chapter**

Gibbs watched the happiness around him, and tried to join in, but he found it difficult. Instead, his marine's mind quickly assessed the situation.

"Witness protection?"

Kate managed to untangle herself from Abby's arms and nod. "Yeah."

"I'm presuming Ducky was in on it. He must have been."

Kate started to answer, but she was interrupted by Ducky.

"Yes, I was 'in on it', Jethro, though you make _it_ sound like some sort of elaborate conspiracy against you. Caitlin was in far greater danger than any of you knew, and so I helped her."

There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the group then. During which, Tony kept a tight grip on Kate's hand, Abby slipped her arm through Kate's and Ducky stood very close next to Abby's side. Gibbs was left standing alone, opposite them.

Unexpectedly, it was McGee who became the voice of wisdom and reason. Taking a step into the middle of the two lines, which was either very clever, or very lucky, and seeming ignorant to the hostile atmosphere, he said, "I don't know about you guys, but if some one had told me yesterday, that they had a way to bring Kate back to life, I sure wouldn't have told them not to bother."

And with that, he began to pick up the stuff he had dropped at the time of Kate's dramatic arrival. Keen for an excuse to avoid participating in a situation she really didn't understand, Ziva bent down to help him.

"Ducky's telling the truth, Gibbs. What I did, well, I didn't choose to do it. It was the only option left to me, apart from real death. So, I made the only logical decision. I wanted to tell you guys, but that would have put everyone in more danger than I was willing to risk. If it's any consolation, I really am sorry for what I put you through."

Gibbs felt like an idiot. "Don't apologise. I can't imagine it was much fun for you either."

Kate smiled slightly, and down on the ground, McGee winked proudly at Ziva.

It was at that moment that Kate remembered, "Sophie. Where is she?"

Gibbs gestured to the truck. "In there. She needed a few minutes alone, but we can't let her go too far."

"I need to talk to her," insisted Kate. "She'll be terrified."

"I'll come with you," said Tony. "As far as she's concerned, you're just her teacher-in-training room mate, remember?" he added, when Kate frowned confusedly at him.

They both looked to Gibbs for permission, and seeing him nod, walked over to the truck.

Sophie's face dissolved into relief, as she saw Kate approach. She climbed out of the truck, and ran over to her friend, flinging her arms around her neck.

"Charlie! You're okay."

"_I'm_ fine. How are you holding up?"

"Well, these guys," she pulled away from Kate, and threw Tony a tearful glare, "NCSI, or NASC, or whatever,"

"NCIS," corrected Kate, softly.

"Yeah, them. They won't tell me anything! I need to know what's going on!"

Kate led Sophie by the hand, to a low wall, nearby, and settled them both on it, sighing.

"Sophie, do you remember seeing a card next to Martin's head? 'For Ari'?"

Sophie nodded.

"Well, Ari, he was a…terrorist, but he died about six months ago."

"How do you know this, Charlie?"

"My name's not Charlie," said Kate, slowly. "My name is actually Kate Todd. Special Agent Kate Todd, to be precise. Just before Ari died, I had to fake my death, and go into witness protection, because Ari wanted to kill me."

Sophie gasped, and stood up, quickly. "That explains the gun, earlier, and the reason you're so funny about having your picture taken, and – oh my God! You're the reason this person's here! You're the reason Martin's dead!"

Kate couldn't reply, because Sophie ran back to the truck, fresh tears running down her face. Kate felt her own eyes welling up as she watched her friend go. This time, she made no move to avoid Tony's arm as it settled round her shoulders.

"You know that none of this is your fault, don't you? It's been a rough night for everyone, and it's unfair that they're blaming you, but you happen to be the easiest scapegoat."

Kate wiped the tears from her face. "You're being very mature, DiNozzo."

"Well," he said, with a teasing air of superiority, "Some one has to be."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Right," said Gibbs to the others, "We've done all we need to here. McGee, Ziva, gather everything up, we're going back to HQ. Abby, help them."

"Yes, Gibbs," said Abby, with a mock salute, her grin still wide from the evening's discovery.

"Jethro," said Ducky, as he watched the others get to work, "I want to make sure you know, I understood what you were feeling when Kate left, and the only way I got through lying to you was by imagining her safe and sound. It wasn't easy, I promise."

"I know," sighed Gibbs, "And McGee's right; I would have done anything to bring her back, so I can't moan now that she is, can I?"

"That's the spirit," smiled Ducky. "Now let's catch this person, before they take her away again."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

When Abby, Ziva and McGee arrived at the truck to pack their equipment up, they found Sophie sat sobbing inside it. After exchanging uncomfortable glances, they silently elected Abby to talk to her.

"Hey, Sophie. I'm Abby. Are you okay?"

"Not really. So far, this evening, I've lost a boyfriend and a room mate."

Abby settled herself next to Sophie.

"You haven't lost…Charlie. She's still the same person."

"No. Charlie didn't talk in initials. Charlie wasn't on first name terms with terrorists. Charlie didn't wave guns about."

"Well," said Abby, "Kate didn't wear glasses, and she definitely didn't _teach_, but she's not a different person. You know, when she faked her death, she couldn't tell _anyone_. As far as we were concerned, she was dead and buried. That's been a bit of an adjustment too. I don't think you should blame her for any of this. She just got caught up in all of it. A bit like you, really."

Sophie didn't say anything, but her tears were stopping, and she looked a little less angry. It was a good job, because at that moment, Gibbs announced that Tony would drive Kate and Sophie to HQ, while the others would go back in the truck.

"Sophie should be okay, really," he said, "There's no way that this is all a coincidence. The killer wanted us to find Kate, so there's no reason why he should come back for Sophie, but with Ari's friends, you can never be sure…"

* * *

I would be very grateful for reviews, even if, like I said, the chapter isn't that great. 


	9. Road trip

This chapter wasn't originally supposed to be in the story, but for all of my lovely reviewers who are Tate fans; a little prezzie. Hope you like :)

Oh, and please be kind and ignore the fact that they would most probably have Sat Nav, as that would completely ruin this lovely Tate-filled chapter. ;)

I know that this chapter is mainly dialogue, but the NEXT chapter will be back to normal standard and format. I swear. :)

Those of you who wanted more humour should love this chapter.

* * *

"We're lost, Tony!"

Kate and Tony were sat in the front of the car, with Sophie curled up in the back seat. She had spent most of the journey, dozing in and out of a light sleep, but at the moment, she was fully awake, and smiling slightly for the first time that night as she watched Kate and Tony argue.

"I'm not lost, Kate. I know exactly where I'm going."

"If you knew where we were going, we'd be there by now. Did you not take any notice of the route on the way here?"

"I didn't think I needed to. What about you? You live in the town, surely you should know your way better than me."

"Funnily enough, knowing the way to NCIS HQ wasn't one of my biggest priorities!"

"Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. Like I said, I know where I'm going!"

Kate snorted incredulously, but decided it would be best not to reply.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Fifteen minutes later, Kate came to a definite conclusion.

"Tony, you have _no_ idea where we're going. We have to call Gibbs, and ask for directions."

"Well," replied Tony, sullenly, "Don't look at me. My cell's dead."

"I don't carry one any more," said Kate. "Too risky."

The both turned to look hopefully at Sophie.

"I haven't got anything on me – no pockets," she said apologetically.

Kate spun her head round to glare at Tony. They had not been separated so long that he had forgotten the meaning of this familiar look. It was the one that said, 'DiNozzo, if you like having your head attached to your shoulders, get us _out_ of the mess you've gotten us into'. He gulped.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph tried to watch the TV, but he was too tense. The game was on, and there was no backing out now. In the end, he settled for switching the set off, and staring at the clock until he had to flee the motel. He had a few preparations to make before he was ready for NCIS to come for him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

He really needn't have been too worried. At the moment, two members of the NCIS team, and the closest thing they had to witness were all driving hopelessly down the highway, very lost – not exactly scary professionals.

"So," started Tony, bored with Kate's sighing being the only sound in the car. "Kate, you dating anyone?"

"No, not at the moment, but I'm guessing you are. Why else would you have asked the question?"

"Well, now that you mention it," he ignored Kate's rolling eyes, "I went on a date with a hot blonde last night, Laura."

"Oh really. I am interested."

"I know that's sarcasm, but I'm gonna keep talking anyway," he said cheerily. "You'd be amazed at the people you can find on the internet."

"You met her on the internet?"

"Yup, one of those dating site things."

Kate smirked. "Why do I get the feeling that you discovered the wonderful _Laura_, when you should have been working?"

"Ah, Kate, you're just jealous."

"I'm presuming that that's of you, and not Laura. Tell me, DiNozzo, why the hell would _I _be jealous of _you_?"

"Because, I get my work done quick enough to "mess about" afterwards. You're just slow."

"No, Tony. You're getting confused again. I'm not slow; you just have a half-assed approach to everything."

"Ouch. It's not half-assed, it's…creative."

"Arrrgh! To think, I actually missed you."

That stopped Tony in his tracks.

"You missed me?" he asked quietly.

Though she really didn't want to, Kate nodded. Tony's face was impossible to read for a few moments, but then a look of triumph spread across his face.

"I knew it!" he shouted happily.

"What?" This was asked by both Kate (annoyed), and Sophie (intrigued).

"Well," said Tony, to Sophie, "Kate always had a bit of a thing for me when we worked together."

Sophie giggled a little, while Kate grit her teeth, and said, "I swear, DiNozzo, if you weren't driving right now, I'd kill you!"

Kate's outburst was followed by a short silence, until Tony piped up childishly, "She's always been touchy about it."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Abby, please stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."

"This isn't funny Gibbs! Where are they?"

"I don't know, Abs."

"Well that's stupid – you know everything."

Gibbs sighed, and turned away from Abby. "McGee, try Tony's cell again."

McGee did. "It's still off, boss."

McGee and Ziva exchanged worried looks. Abby had spent the last fifteen minutes pacing impatiently, and even Gibbs looked a little unsettled.

"Right," he said, finally, "They're probably lost. Tony's phone could have run out of battery. We'll give them another fifteen minutes, and then we'll start looking."

Abby looked less than happy with the decision, but even she knew that past a certain point, there was no arguing with Gibbs.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"We could stop for directions," suggested Kate.

"Oh yeah," said Tony, looking around the road that they currently found themselves on. "Do you want to ask that tree over there? Actually, on second thoughts, it looks a little sinister. Maybe we should try the tree next to it."

"Oh, shut up, Tony." Kate shuffled a little in her seat, to avoid looking at him.

"Erm, this is probably a bad time, but I have to use the bathroom," said Sophie, quietly.

"We'll stop at the next gas station," promised Tony.

"Yeah, they might be able to give us directions," said Kate, her frown now lost due to her stroke of inspiration.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph smiled slightly as he dropped the note on his pillow, and left the motel room.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Gibbs!" protested Abby, as Gibbs removed the clock from the wall.

"Abby, I'll know when fifteen minutes is up. Try not to worry so much."

"Kate's only been back for an hour, I'm not going to lose her again already."

"Kate'll be fine. They all will."

"I hope so, Gibbs. I hope so."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Right," said Kate, as they drew into the gas station. "I'll take Sophie to the bathroom. You ask about the phone and directions."

Tony nodded, and left the car. Meanwhile, Kate and Sophie made their way to the bathroom.

"Sophie?" started Kate.

"Yeah?"

"You know I'm sorry about Martin, don't you?"

Sophie nodded, and said quickly, "Yeah."

"And, if I ever thought that I was putting you in any danger –"

"Uh-huh."

"And, well, I'm just sorry."

"Okay."

"You're not listening, are you?"

"No, Charlie, I mean, Kate, it's just that…well…I _really _have to pee."

Kate laughed. "Oh, well, that's okay then."

As Sophie made her dash for the toilet, Kate looked at herself in the mirror. There were a few changes that needed to be made again. First she took the fake glasses off and threw them in the trash can beside the sink. Next, she slipped the blue contacts out of her eyes, and sent them on a similar journey into the trash can. The final touch was to loosen her hair from the ponytail, and wipe away the lipstick that frankly, she had never liked.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs couldn't believe how fast Abby moved when the phone rang.

"Kate?"

"No. Tony. Abby, why are you answering Gibbs' phone?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter," said Abby, impatiently, "Are you guys okay?"

Tony smiled on the other end of the line. "We're fine. We were lost, but the guy behind the counter here's given me some directions. We won't be long."

"Why didn't you call?! We've been really worried!"

"My phone died. I'm sorry."

"Okay," she said, slowly, "See you soon."

"See you in a bit, Abs."

Abby hung up the phone, and smiled happily at the others. "They're fine. You were right Gibbs."

"Well, I _do _know everything."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tony gasped as Sophie and Kate got back into the car. Kate was…well…Kate again.

"Welcome back, Kate," he said, sounding earnest for one of the first times that evening.

Her **brown** eyes flashed as she replied. "It's good to _be _back."

* * *

Hope you liked it, Tate-ers. x

Please, please, please review _this _chapter. As it's a slightly experimental one, I would be _so _unbelievably grateful. Promise sickly sweet, grovelling review replies for everyone who does. :) :)


	10. Breadcrumbs of an intentional nature

It seems all my author's note lately start with apologies, and for that I am truly sorry. :)

Yes, this chapter has taken so long that you have probably all lost interest with the story, but I swear on the remaining waffles in my bread bin that the next chapter will be up within the next two days. Promise.

Hope you like.

* * *

The sight of the desk that had once been hers brought Kate to a halt.

"What's wrong?" asked McGee.

"Imagine the worst sense of déjà vu you've ever had, McGee. It's like the past six months haven't happened." She glared down at the visitor's pass round her neck, "Except this wouldn't have been here six months ago, of course."

"Well, you always hated writing reports. Now you don't have to bother," pointed out Gibbs.

Kate tried (and failed) to take consolation from the fact.

"Okay," continued Gibbs, "Now that you two," he looked very pointedly at Tony and Kate, "Have finally decided to grace us with your presence, we need to start working."

The words brought with them the briefest second of inner confusion, in which everyone wondered whether or not the word 'we' included Kate. Well, everyone except Gibbs, who, blunt as ever, had not finished his orders.

"Abby hasn't been able to find anything on the card so we've got almost nothing to work with. Tony, I need you to take Sophie to a hotel, and keep an eye on her. Like I said, if this guy is really a friend of Ari, we don't know what he's capable of. McGee, start making calls in the area surrounding the scene. See if anyone suspicious has been seen around lately. Check hotels and restaurants especially. Ziva, help McGee. Kate, look through everything we have on Ari, and see if you can unearth anything that could possibly help us. Oh," he added, after a second's thought, "And under no circumstances are you to leave the building alone."

Everyone except Kate went to go and begin on their various tasks.

"What do you want, Kate?"

"Thanks…boss."

"What for?" asked Gibbs innocently.

"Oh, you know," smiled Kate, "Not making me go to the hotel."

"Well," continued Gibbs, in the same tone as before, "Didn't think it was wise to trap you and Tony together twice in an evening."

Their eyes met, and in a moment of understanding, each said silently what they could not say aloud. _"Thank you for making me part of the team again." "No problem, we missed you."_

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Due to the ridiculously event-filled night, Kate had completely forgotten how tired she was. However, the dawn was creeping up, and after a mere twenty minutes of work, she found her eyelids drooping uncontrollably.

"I'm going to make some coffee," she announced, "Anyone else want some?"

Various grunts from the others told her that they were all okay on that front.

"Alright, well, I won't be long. Oh, and if Gibbs asks, tell him not to worry, and I'm staying in the building."

This time her words were met with grunts of an affirmative nature. She grinned to herself. They were all hard at work again.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Okay Sophie, I'll be just outside the door here."

Tony and Sophie had arrived at the nearest hotel to NCIS HQ. They had talked very little on the journey, each taking advantage of the first quiet part of the night to try and get a grip on the various events of the evening.

"Erm, Agent DiNozzo,"

"Tony."

"Tony, do you mind staying in here for a bit?"

"Sure." He took a seat. "Do you want to talk about something?"

She nodded. "I want to talk about…Kate. God, I still can't get used to that name."

They smiled at one another.

"What about Kate do you want to talk about?"

"She's Catholic?"

"Yeah."

"She likes stuff like tofu?"

Tony shuddered at the word. "Yeah."

"And she hates action movies?"

"Oh yeah."

"She's really kind, and hard working, and she hates sexist men?"

"Well, that's Kate in a nutshell, but why are you asking?"

"Because, I needed to make sure that Charlie really hadn't gone."

"Ah. Well, of all that stuff you just said is true of Charlie, then she really is just Kate by another name."

Sophie nodded, and for a few minutes they were quiet again.

"Well, I think you should try and get some sleep, Sophie. I'll be just outside the door."

"Okay. And, Tony," she added, as he started to leave, "If you what you said is true, I know Kate just as well as I know Charlie, and I think it's safe to say that, yeah, she did have a bit of a thing for you."

That stopped Tony in his tracks.

"What?"

"Well, I'm fairly sure that you were her old colleague, "Tom" – The cute, if ever so slightly chauvinistic guy, who ate junk food and loved crappy macho movies. She mentioned you over a bottle of wine…or two one time."

"She called me cute?"

"And chauvinistic. And lazy, if I remember rightly. But, yes, she did call you cute."

Tony's chest puffed out. "I'll be just…ah, you know where I'll be."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Boss, I think I've found something!"

Gibbs turned to see who was shouting for him. It was Ziva.

"What?" he asked, as he walked over.

"Well. I called a motel a few miles from the crime scene and asked them if they had had any suspicious visitors."

"And?"

"I'm getting there, boss. Anyway, a "Mr. Smith" checked in with them last night. Nice enough, polite guy, but he left again at three in the morning, and when the cleaning staff went into his room this morning, they found a sealed envelope on the pillow addressed to _Gibbs and team_."

"Did they open it?"

"No. It's waiting for us behind the reception desk."

"Okay. Arrange alternative protection for Sophie. Then call Tony and tell him to meet us at the motel. Actually, on second thoughts, McGee, go pick Tony up. Meet us at the motel."

McGee nodded.

"Where's Kate?" asked Gibbs.

"Here," came a voice from the other side of the bullpen. "Sorry I took so long. I got harassed by everyone crazy enough to be working this early. Apparently I'm 'a very healthy looking corpse'. What's up?"

"We know where our killer spent the night."

"Am I coming?"

"Of course you are. Just make sure you're careful."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Though she didn't know it, Sophie's premature awakening that morning, was almost identical to her roommate's earlier in the night.

"Hello, Tony."

"Hey. Sorry to wake you up. I've got to go. These guys," he gestured to the agents standing behind him, "Will be looking after you now."

"Why do you have to go?"

"We've found out where Martin's killer stayed last night."

"Catch him, Tony."

"We will."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Thanks to McGee's ability to follow directions, the two halves of the NCIS team arrived at the motel within seconds of each other.

They made a formidable sight to the poor manager of the motel, struggled not to cower behind his desk as the five tired, serious looking agents approached him.

"Can I help you?"

"We talked over the phone," explained Ziva, "You have a note for us."

"Ah yes," said the manager, immediately recognising her distinctive accent, "You are NCIS. Well, here's the note."

He handed it to Ziva.

"We're going to have to take a look in the room Mr. Smith stayed in, last night," stated Gibbs, as Ziva slipped on a pair of gloves and opened the letter.

The manager nodded, and Ziva began to read.

_You owe me a life, NCIS,_

_A friend of Ari._

"Short and sweet," she said, grimly.

Gibbs was frowning. "Okay, bag it up. We've always got the room to provide us with leads.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Nothing?" barked Gibbs, "How can there be nothing?"

"Well," said Kate, "It's not exactly nothing. It's too much. The room hasn't been properly cleaned in months. There's DNA and fingerprints everywhere. The only thing in here that isn't dangerously filthy is the bed, and that hasn't been slept in."

"Right," said Gibbs, wearily, "Back to HQ. Hopefully Abby will find something on the note."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Did I ever tell you that I love you Abby?"

"No."

"Well, I do."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs smiled ruefully as he told his team the news.

"Abby found a partial on the note."

* * *

Please review, even though I'm a rubbish updater and probably don't deserve it. :) 


	11. A game of Kate and mouse

Hello there, chooks. I promised a quick chapter, and I've delivered (though fingers crossed not at the expense of the quality).

However, it is another short-ish one. Though, when you read it, I hope you'll realise that it would have suffered for being any longer. Anyway, the next chapter will be normal length.

I'm really proud of this chapter name. In fact, this is the first story I've ever named chapters in, so if you could add a quick comment to your review about whether or not you like them, I would be incredibly grateful.

BTW – for those of you that are worried, the TATE lovin' will come, it's just one of those slow and steady thangs. Be patient, my children. :D

* * *

"Joseph Dean," said Kate, as she read the name off the computer screen.

"What's his connection to Ari?" asked Tony

Kate's eyes scanned the profile on the monitor in front of her, briefly. "Not much. They've been linked a few times in the past to various shady happenings, including terrorism, kidnapping and assassination, but nothing was ever proved. Like always where Ari is concerned. No, I think their relationship was more of a personal friendship."

"Strange to think of Ari having friends," commented McGee.

"I can think of something even stranger," said Kate.

The others looked quizzically at her.

"Well," she explained, "There's nothing here to explain his behaviour. He's supposed to be highly intelligent, calculating, and calm. Why have we been able to find him so easily?"

Gibbs nodded. "The alias at the hotel room – "Mr. Smith", there was nothing clever about that. And of course, there was the print."

"Maybe the print was an accident. It was only a partial," said McGee.

"No," replied Kate, "That would have been an amateur's mistake. And why leave the note at all? Why not just stop at the card? And breaking into my apartment wasn't very professional."

"So, what do you think is going on?" asked Ziva.

"I think that he wants more than just revenge. He's unstable. He wants one of us dead, and he won't stop until he achieves it."

"When you say, "he won't stop", just how far is he willing to go?" asked Tony, seriously.

Kate looked him straight in the eye. "I think it's safe to say that he would be willing to die for it."

No one spoke for a moment. It was a worrying thought.

"Right," said Gibbs, eventually, "There's no point standing here speculating about how badly he wants us dead. Have we got his last known address?"

Kate typed for a moment, and then nodded.

"Well, let's go check it out."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph sighed deeply. He had spent the last three years twiddling his thumbs. It had nearly driven him mad. Since adolescence, his life had been about survival, terror, and excitement, and he had loved every minute of it. Now, here he was twiddling his thumbs again. However, he couldn't hurry NCIS up. If he did, they would simply catch him, lock him away, and all happily carry on with their lives. He needed them to suffer, and for that he needed to be patient. True, he might have to make a few sacrifices on the way to the ultimate revenge, but he had never intended to live to old age. No, he wanted to go out with a…bang.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Is this the place?" asked Gibbs.

Kate looked down at the piece of paper in her hand and nodded. They were stood outside number 21A, in a large, but quiet apartment block.

Tony knocked on the door.

No answer.

He tried again. "NCIS! Open up!"

No answer.

He forced the door.

Gibbs went in first, with Ziva behind him, who was closely followed by McGee. Kate went to follow, when she felt a touch on her arm. She turned to face Tony.

"Kate…keep your head down."

She grinned at him, and they followed the others into the apartment.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph's face split into a wide smile as he heard the banging on the door. Not long now…

NCIS NCIS NCIS

It was Kate who saw Joseph disappear out the window, and up the fire escape. Without really thinking, she ran after him.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWELVE: BANG

* * *

Reviews are my oxygen. :D 


	12. Bang

Really, I should wait for a bit for more reviews and stuff before posting this chapter, but as an apology for my awful, awful updating skills, I'm posting it now. I think you'll like it.

Penultimate (yes, there is another one to come yet) chapter, people – it's all kicking off. Lol.

And thank you to everyone who mentioned chapter names in their reviews. I was touched that you made the effort. :) Your positive feedback means that it will be something I do a lot more in future stories.

* * *

_It was Kate who saw Joseph disappear out the window, and up the fire escape. Without really thinking, she ran after him._

Kate's hands felt clammy as she climbed up the fire escape, after Joseph. A week ago she had been worrying about whether or not she was going to get her college assignments done on time, and now she was chasing a psychopath onto a rooftop.

Funnily enough, it was not the sight if the gun in Joseph's hand that frightened her so much. It was the fact that he didn't use it as soon as she popped her head over the edge of the roof. What the hell did he have planned?

"Come up slowly, Agent Todd. Don't make me do anything that you might regret."

Joseph almost laughed at himself. He was talking like a villain in a low-budget James Bond rip off. He didn't really care though. He'd always believed in ending in style.

"Now, we just have to wait for the others to join us."

The only had to wait for a couple of seconds.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs struggled to keep himself calm as he maneuvered his way up the fire escape one handed, his other hand cradling his gun. He could see Kate stood dangerously near to the edge of the building, her hands behind her head, her own gun on the ground in front of her.

_Dean, you idiot, what are you doing? _His gut was screaming at him, but he could not work out what it was trying to tell him.

"Dean! Put your weapon down, and put your hands in the air!"

With a lazy grin, Joseph did so. Gibbs frowned confusedly. He could hear McGee and DiNozzo breathing heavily, lower down on the ladder, wondering what was going on. Deciding that there was no way that Dean could do anything without a weapon, Gibbs climbed onto the roof top, his gun still pointed at the man opposite him. It was only once he was on the roof that he saw the reason for Dean's grin.

"What is it, boss?" asked Kate, worriedly.

She was oblivious to the red dot dancing on her forehead.

Joseph picked up his gun again, and smirked arrogantly as he pointed it at Gibbs and the rest of the team, who had come up onto the roof top.

"Right, guys, you'll do what I say, or I _will _have her shot, and I can assure you that there is nothing fake about this."

"What's going on?" asked Kate, her voice a notch higher than usual, her feet frozen to the spot.

"There is, my dear Agent Todd, a highly skilled sniper with a gun pointed at your head right now. _A real one_."

Though she despised herself for it at the back of her mind, Kate felt tears well up in her eyes.

Joseph simply smiled.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tony doubted he had ever been less concerned about a gun pointed at his head. He found he was far more worried about the one pointed at Kate's. Suddenly every feeling he'd had last time she was "shot" descended on him once more.

Having her back had been so like the old days, that he had almost forgotten that she had been gone. He had forgotten the terrifying, hollow emptiness he had felt over losing her. He had forgotten about all the nights he had spent wishing that he could have told her the thing that he should have told everyday since he had met her.

If only he could have held her in his arms, just once.

"I love you!" he yelled, hopelessly.

The tears that had been forming in Kate's eyes began to flow thick and fast at his words. Dean's smile, on the other hand, grew even more pronounced and demented as he watched the team crumble hopelessly. It was exactly how he had planned it.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate was struggling to stand. Her knees felt less substantial than water. She had been the one to tell the others how desperate he was to make them suffer. How far he would go. She knew that she was going to die. There was no way off the roof top alive. Well, not for her. Joseph would let the others shoot him once she was dead. No doubt, the sniper would have been instructed to run directly after killing her.

Suddenly, the strangest things seemed important. Things like confessing one of her deepest, darkest secrets to the most annoying colleague she had ever had.

"I love you!" The sound of his words brought even denser floods of tears to her eyes.

Endings always seem to bring with them so many questions. Most of these questions can be encapsulated simply in the word, "why?" Why had they never told each other? Why had she not once kissed those lips, cradled that hand lovingly in her own? Why was she only asking herself these questions now, when it was too late?

It was odd, but the one person who had caused her the most stress and anger and annoyance in the whole world, would probably be the one thing she missed most of all in the whole world.

If only she could have held him in her arms, just once.

"I love you too," she mouthed back, feeling her own hot, salty tears trickle into her mouth and onto her tongue.

She closed her eyes, and waited.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs watched hopelessly as the tragedy unfolded in front of his eyes. He was about to lose his agent, his colleague, his friend. Again. He didn't think he could face burying her once more. Saying goodbye for the last time. Again. He tried to see a way out, but it was hopeless. All he could do was wait to kill the evil monster who was the cause of all of this.

He would make sure they couldn't identify the body.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Of course, nobody on the rooftop was expecting Dean to fall to the floor at that moment with a bullet hole through his head.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

_Two minutes earlier_

Ziva whipped around the bedroom with her gun held in front of her. It was empty.

"Clear!" she yelled, hearing various similar cries from her colleagues at different points in the apartment.

She was about to leave the room, when something outside caught her eye through the window: a laser sight. She heard as the rest of the team made their way out of the window in the next room. It looked like she was going to have to save them on her own.

Sprinting faster than she had possibly done in her whole life Ziva made her way onto the roof of the opposite building.

She shot the sniper from the other side of the roof, and then made her way to the rifle he had been sat with. Looking through the sights, she could see that Dean had his gun pointed at the rest of the team. She had no choice. Holding her breath, she took aim, and sent a bullet through the air to Dean's head.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

_Present moment_

For a couple of seconds, her brain had trouble registering what had happened. However, once it had become clear, Kate's knees did what they had been threatening to do for the past few minutes, and gave way. She sank to the ground, and this time her sobs were those of relief.

* * *

Oh, come on! You didn't seriously think I'd kill her, did you? Lol. 

Please, please, please leave a review. Even if it's only a little one. Thank ye SO much. x


	13. Snapshots of a happy ending

This is going to be a really long author's note, so I apologise in advance…

Firstly, a HUGE 'thank you' to every person who has reviewed me. You really do inspire me, encourage me, and frankly, on crap mornings, cheer me up. This chapter is dedicated to you guys. (You know who y'all are.)

Secondly, sorry about my bizarrely erratic updating skills. I'm trying to work on it.

Thirdly, thanks to everyone who put me on alert/favourites. I am honoured and smiley.

Fourthly, sorry to all the people who only read this because I promised TATE lovin', and then had to wait ages for it. (Though, you must admit, it _was _worth the wait for the rooftop proclamations ;D).

Fifth, (I did warn you it would be long!) sorry for any awful typos in this chapter, I've had to borrow my brother's laptop, and it has a smaller keyboard than I'm used to.

Sixthly, REVIEWS. Everyone presumes that because this is the last chapter, their reviews are pointless. You couldn't be more wrong. This is the chapter in which reviews are most important. Please leave one (even if it's only short). What did you think of the story? What chapter styles did you like/dislike? Etc. And, I'm looking for a new project so, if there's anything you'd like to see, PLEASE put your suggestion in a review. Sorry, I hate to nag, but they really are crucial at this point in a fic. Xxx

And so I end on, in the words of Leaf900, "Twilight Haters Unite!" Over and out until the next corny denial fest!

* * *

**Immediately after the team's close shave with death**

The events of the past few minutes had shaken even Gibbs, and while he and McGee slowly got their bearings back, Tony realised that he was feeling very clear-headed and decisive. Walking purposefully over to Kate, he pulled her to her feet, and wiping away her tears, planted a passionate kiss on her lips

Once again, it was Ziva who returned normality to the chaos.

"I hope you have one of those for me, DiNozzo," she quipped as she pulled herself up the fire escape. "I did just save your life."

**One week after the previous chapter**

Kate pressed the button for the elevator. It was her first day back at work, after the leave she had taken to visit her overjoyed friends and family, and explain about the witness protection. She smirked as Tony rushed to join her.

"Wow, DiNozzo, you're turning over a new leaf."

"What do you mean?"

"For possibly the first time in your life, you're on time."

"Well, aren't you funny?" His words dripped with sarcasm.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

She continued to smirk as he scrabbled around for a comeback. When inspiration didn't come, he was silent.

"Oh," said Kate, after a moment, "You left this at my place, last night."

She fished a sock out of her bag, and threw it to him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ziva smiled at the abundance of goodies on her desk. She still had half of the box of chocolates Kate had given her left to eat, McGee had already brought her morning coffee, there was a box of homemade cookies from Abby, and scrawled on a post-it, was a note from Tony that read:

_IOU one butt-saving gesture,_

_Anthony DiNozzo._

Really, she should save everyone's lives more often.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Can you imagine some one telling you a month ago that we'd be working with Kate again?"

McGee and Abby had both arrived early for work that morning, and had passed the extra minutes playing hangman in the lab.

Abby glared at McGee.

"I'm ecstatic that she's back, but don't think that I don't realise you're stalling."

"Well, it's a hard one, Abs."

"It's easy!"

K . . E / L O . . . S / . . N Y

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"New case," said Gibbs, as he entered the room and threw a file on what was temporarily serving as both Ziva's and Kate's desk. "Naval officer kidnapped from his home at approximately 3a.m. this morning, according to the wife, anyway."

He explained the ins and outs of the case, assigned them all their tasks, and watched his newly reunited team get to work.

As they all began, he allowed himself a brief moment of happiness. There were snags to the new arrangement, obviously. Kate had already banged her knees on the wrong side of the desk she was having to sit at, he now had a very large team to keep an eye on, and he had had to sit Kate and Tony down, and inform them that should they wish to pursue any sort of relationship, _he _sure as hell didn't want to know about it. Still, despite all that, he couldn't help but grin slightly to himself when he compared the atmosphere in the bullpen now, to the atmosphere in the weeks following Kate's death.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate looked up at the bathroom window, across at McGee, and down at her skirt.

"No way! On my first day back?! Someone up there does not like me!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Abby screamed as Gibbs and Kate came through the doors of the lab.

"What's wrong?" asked Gibbs, his hand immediately creeping towards his gun.

"Nothing. It's just like…oh, please go back out and come back again. _Please_."

Gibbs and Kate exchanged confused looks, but they were both in a good mood, and so decided to indulge Abby's bizarre whim. She screamed again, but this time it was a little quieter.

"Argh! It's like the old days. You know, you look so…Gibbs and Kate-y."

"That's a good thing, right?" asked Kate, still looking a little confused.

"Yeah," said Abby, happily.

"So you're in a good mood?" enquired Gibbs.

"Yup."

"Then I guess now's a good time to tell you that we have a few piles of vomit covered clothing for you to go through."

Abby's smile disappeared immediately.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Bet you fifty bucks that it's the wife," grinned Tony.

"Tony! You can't make bets about cases!" said Kate, incredulously.

Ziva nodded. "It's sick…Anyway, it was the son."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate felt her chest constrict tightly. She'd gotten a bit out of shape since faking her death, and the damn suspect seem to have stamina similar to that of an Olympic runner. It was Tony who managed to make the arrest in the end.

"Jeez, you look tired, Kate."

"Yeah, well, peak physical fitness isn't really to crucial for a trainee teacher."

However, despite her breathlessness, she couldn't help but feel her stomach drop (just a little) at his look of concern.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Wow," said Kate as they watched Gibbs in interrogation, "I didn't see that one coming."

Tony grinned as he briefly wrapped his arms round her waist, enjoying the fact that Gibbs couldn't see them.

"I know," he agreed. "You owe me fifty bucks, Ziva."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Kate stretched out as best she could in her awkward seat. Bending her neck in an angle that defied all scientific law, she checked the time on Ziva's desk clock. Seven o'clock. She glanced over at Tony's desk, but neither he or his things were anywhere to be seen. Well, that was strange. They had been planning on going to a bar that evening to celebrate her return to work. In fact, they were due to leave in only a couple of minutes. Racking her brains, she realised that she hadn't seen him for a couple of hours.

Frowning, she walked over to his desk for a closer look. Sure enough, there were no signs of DiNozzo. However, she did notice a small bundle of fabric on his seat with a post-it pinned to it.

_Kate,_

_I might possibly, maybe, just perhaps have broken into your apartment. It was all for a good cause though. You didn't seriously think that I was so cheap that I would just take you to some crappy bar, did you? DiNozzos don't do things by halves. A cab's going to pick you up at seven thirty, outside the building. Be ready._

_See you in a bit,_

_Tony._

With a stupid grin she was glad no one could see, Kate unfolded the fabric. It was one of her dresses. Unsurprisingly, it was the shortest one she owned. Still smiling, she shook her head. Typical Tony.

**One year later...**

Kate glanced down at the diamond ring on her left hand.

"Gibbs is going to kill us," she sighed.

* * *

Okey poke, that's the end, folks. 

Sorry about the last bit. I'm just an old romantic.

Smiles, Caitlin. x


End file.
